Character Contest 71: In the Cards

Your character design challenge this week is to create an awesome illustration using HeroMachine based on a deck of cards. Now, you could go with the standard playing card deck with numbers from deuce to ten, with the Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, in the four suits of Hearts, Clubs, Spades, or Diamonds. Or, you could change directions completely and go with a Tarot Card Deck, along with the various colorful figures and concepts contained therein. One famous example of the former is DC’s “Royal Flush Gang”, though of course you don’t have to do a whole group.

The person with the winning entry as selected by our expert panel (i.e. me) will win their choice of a) a portrait to go in HeroMachine 3, b) an item to go in HeroMachine 3, or c) a custom black and white “Sketch of the Day” style drawing (also by me). The rules otherwise are the same as always:

In the 1940’s Johnny Casino was a small time crook. When a deal went wrong he was beaten into an inch of his life and thrown into a vat of chemicals. Somehow he survived and found the chemicals had given him superstrength and invulnerabilty. He rushed home to share the news with his wife and kids only to find his enemies had killed them with a deck of cards. Wanting to revenge his family, Casino made several costumes to fight his enemy. Each had a different number or a card suit on it. Each night he went out in a different costume, so the public and his enemies thought there was multiple costumed crusaders around town. At first the papers refered to him/them as the Card Club and once it came into light that he was one man he has carried the names Captain Card and Captain Casino. He will never rest until all those associated to his families death are dead

Jokerz Wild is a criminal who works for the government agency The Card. They usually use a team of heroes known as the Deck, but sometimes there are jobs that are just to dirty for the government to be part of so they need a wild card to do it for them. That’s where Jokerz comes in. He does the jobs that the gov’t doesn’t want to be associated with. But being insane he often goes further in the killings then he needs to and has no problem killing those he works with and for if they bore him.

I love the theme -it’s really interesting-, but my only problem is that I’ve got the idea for what I’m going to do all set out and I just have no idea about how it’s actually going to be done.
Also, it doesn’t look like I’m going to have anything to robot-ify with this theme.

The Devil is another of the popularly misunderstood cards of the Tarot, perhaps second only to Death in this category. In our modern world we do not like to think that there is a seed of negativity in everyone, so we assume that anything bad that happens must be the work of some outside Devil, who is to be feared and shunned. But really, people do not do bad things because a force outside them is controlling their actions. They do bad things because the negative part of their own personality is expressing itself. To deny this side of yourself is to give it power over you, and to give it free reign over your life will eventually destroy you.

The symbolic portrayal of the Devil in the Tarot is a clear mockery of two previous Major Arcana, the Lovers and the Hierophant. The former parody is perhaps the more obvious. Where the angel hovers on the Lovers, the Devil stands on his card, cursing the man and woman rather than blessing them. They who were once connected to each other by love are now attached to the Devil by their chains of lust and ignorance. The Devil’s hand mimics the gesture of the Hierophant, but perverts it. The true Hierophant offers spiritual wisdom and beckons to us with an open hand. The Devil’s gesture hides his true intentions of hurtful wisdom – not really wisdom at all.

It must be stressed again that the Devil is not a force that attacks from without, but a cancer than devours you from within. When the Devil is in power everything turns upside-down; hence, the inverted Pentagram associated with him. When you submit to your inner Devil, you simultaneously submit to every other force in the outside world that would do you harm. You allow others to bind you and control your life. You allow your creative powers to be corrupted and turned against you. But through all of this you are not a victim of anyone but yourself. In fact, in a sense you are not really a victim at all, and certainly not helpless.

The most important lesson the Devil teaches you is that you can free yourself from whatever restrictions are holding you back, at any time you choose to. The chains that bind the figures on the Devil card are loose enough to be thrown off at any time. There is still positive energy within you that you can tap to break free – but only if you can let go of the materialism and that the Devil embodies. In the end, the best way to free yourself of the Devil’s bondage is not to submit to it, but to accept it as the shadow that must be cast wherever there is light. Having accepted the shadow, you can look to the light.

When the Devil card appears in a reading it usually shows that you are not in control of your life, sometimes as a result of your own actions, but more often as a byproduct of inaction. This loss of control often leads to loss of hope, and a lack of faith in your own abilities. Sometimes ignorance and materialism are the tools of the Devil, and those traits will be evident if you focus on worldly possessions and power while ignoring the spiritual power you have inside of you. As a result, your creativity and energy can be seriously impaired, and you may not wish to regain control of yourself.

Your own mindset is a critical factor when the Devil card appears. If you think darkness has won, it has. If you are willing to let others exploit and restrain you, then they can and they will. But no one has power over you unless you give it away. If you are willing to release yourself from the chains of ignorance, you can do so, and you can step into the light. Turn all that negative energy into positive energy and see how much you can accomplish when you believe you can. Take a good long look at yourself and try to see what you could not see before. Always remember, that shadow cannot exist without light, and that there is no Devil except the one you create.

The Magician’s number is One, the number of creation and individuality; his power is transformation through the use of his will. In his manipulation of the basic elements into all the substances and materials of life, he shows us that from a foundation of the mundane can emerge all that is to come. He can take the Nothing from which the Fool emerged and shape it into Something, making one out of zero. Clearly this is power of a divine sort, and it is true that the Magician is a conduit for a higher power, which commands all of the material world. Since all that we can see in the physical world is the conduit himself, the acts he performs often seem like magic.

The Magician may seem like a strange title for someone who holds real power, because the word “magician” tends to conjure up pictures of illusionists and escape artists, whose power involves sleight of hand and misdirection. The Magician, however, is similar to the stage illusionist in many ways. He is confident in his skills and his ability to produce the effects that he wants. His real power comes from sources outside of him, and he is powerless without these sources, just as an illusionist depends on people “behind the scenes”. Both magician and Magician, however, are as important to their powers are the powers are to them. Without a conduit, power itself is impotent and useless.

With his powers the Magician holds influence over all – theory and practice, logic and emotion, thought and action. Almost every modern depiction of the Magician includes one or more symbols of infinity to denote his limitless power; the snake eating its tail and the lemniscate (horizontal figure-eight) being chief among these. This limitless power comes from sources outside his body yet under his control. And as long as the Magician remembers that this power is his to command, even if he loses all of his worldly power and skill he can never truly be called powerless. For his Will is a power that, while it can be subdued, it can never be destroyed.

Another nearly universal association with the Magician is the red-and-white color scheme. This theme recurs throughout the Tarot and it is very symbolic that it starts with this card and not the Fool. For while the Fool was the potential for positive and negative, the Magician is the union of positive and negative. He creates and he preserves; he destroys and he redeems. His true power is that he not only knows what he must do, but he knows how he must do it, and why he must do it. Then he does it. The Magician reminds us that a wish alone will change nothing, but a decision can change everything. A desire to create is nothing without an ability to create, and vice-versa.

When the Magician appears he shows that you are ready to become a conduit for power, like he is. The forces of creation and destruction have always been at your command but now you have the wisdom and confidence needed to use them constructively. Now is the time to act, if you know what is it you want to accomplish and why. Since the powers of transformation are at your command, change your desires into objectives, your thoughts into actions, your goals into achievements. If you have recently met with failure, now you can change that failure into success as easily as the Magician changes fire into water. The only limits you have are those you impose on yourself.

The outward manifestations of such power are as numerous as they are varied, but the most common outer effect of the Magician’s influence is unswaying and total confidence. The realization that the world is under your control is what inspires this kind of confidence, and with good reason. So go out into the world, set your mind to whatever goal you are interested in, and then just stand back and watch as everything falls into place under your command. Ultimately, the message of the Magician is a simple one despite his limitless and infinitely complex power. Your life is under your control. Your life is what you want it to be. Your life is what you make it.

The image of Death charging across a field on his spectral steed would strike fear into the heart of almost any man. The appearance of the Death card has a similar effect on most people, though it really should not. Whether you like it or not, Death is one of the most powerful cards in the Tarot. Humans naturally fear the unknown, and so Death is our greatest fear since it is the greatest unknown. The majority of us are unaware that our mind and spirit die all the time, constantly shedding old beliefs and acquiring new ones. It has been said many times by many readers: the Death card is not a card of death – it is a card of transformation.

In the Tarot, as in reality, Death is nothing more than a transition to the next level of life. Whether you believe that a soul goes to heaven or back to Earth to be reincarnated, the fact remains that the soul lives on. The candle is extinguished, but only because the day has come. The river shown on many versions of the Death card is a symbol, showing that life will go on, no matter what disastrous things happen. The river water will reach the sea, rise into the clouds, then rain onto the land to flow into the river again. Nothing is destroyed, because nothing can be destroyed – there can be only transformation.

The only real reason the transformation shown by Death is so catastrophic is because it is being held back, fought against by those too afraid to realize that change is beneficial. Every change happens for a reason, and Death is a force like Justice in that it is absolutely fair. It does not discriminate against one group and spare another – everyone is equal in the eyes of Death. So if big changes are happening in your life it is certainly plausible that you are the reason for them. There’s no point fighting death, it only makes things worse. Like the Hanged Man, accept that change happens and let it do what it must.

Take a look at the Rider-Waite version of the Death card, and note the bishop on the right side of the image. He is actually welcoming Death, because he knows of the great spiritual transformation it brings. Almost all versions of the Death card show a symbol of resurrection or re-birth. This could be the rising sun, an egg, or a sapling sprouting from the body of a dead man. All these symbols show that to progress in life, our old form must die, just as a snake sheds its old skin to reveal a shiny new one. This is the message of the card: Death must be conquered by the regeneration of the soul, and he who knows this shall live forever.

When the Death card appears, big changes are heading your way. Usually this change refers to something in your lifestyle; an old attitude or perspective is no longer useful and you have to let go of it. While the Hanged Man was a card of voluntary sacrifice, the Death card is a forced sacrifice – but that does not mean that it is not for your own good. Sometimes you cannot see how your attitudes are hurting you, and when that is true, the Death card is your wake-up call. Death is not simply destruction; it is destruction followed by renewal. Even though one door may have closed, another is opening. Will you have the courage to step through?

If so, before you go forward, take a moment to look back. Is there anything that you are carrying with you that is no longer necessary? Let it go now, before you proceed. Are your old attitudes holding you back, or are high expectations constantly disappointing you? Cast them off, or let Death’s watery energy wash them away from you. Open yourself and let it strip away all that you no longer need – fear, revenge, intolerance. Flowers cannot bloom if the land is full of weeds which choke the ground, and likewise, your spiritual enlightenment will be held back by doubt and fear. Let them go now or risk having them painfully ripped away when Death inevitably returns.

When questions about the nature of existence and the purpose of life start eating away at your mind, answers will not be found in the physical world. They can only be found inside of you. You have risen above your desires and emotions because they will no longer help you on your journey. Now you must become like the Hermit, who seeks the answers alone. Only the whispers of his Inner Voice, and the light of his lamp, will guide him now. Eventually even that lamp shall be cast away, because it is artificial and will not help the Hermit forever. His own inner light must learn to shine in the absence of the light of others.

For true wisdom to emerge, there can be no distractions. Any preoccupations of the world, no matter how small or inconsequential they may seem, will be heard as shouts that drown out the still voice within. It is not enough to rid yourself of inner turmoil, though that is a step in the right direction. The next step is to eliminate outer turmoil, through isolation and withdrawal from the world. This is the path of the Hermit, who slips into darkness in order to have the light revealed to him when he is ready. Like the Fool, he is once again alone, separated from all others. But this time it not only by choice, but by necessity.

Once he has learned the lessons and seen his true wisdom, the Hermit will often pick up his lamp and return to the real world, in order to help others see their own potential as well. But the Hermit is not a teacher; he will not lecture his students and tell them all about his experiences of solitude and isolation. They must experience it themselves, for wisdom earned simply by listening to another person is not really wisdom at all. True wisdom and true enlightenment always come from within. A teacher may tell the student how he found wisdom, but the student must go and find it for himself. Wisdom is not a gift presented to you on a platter. It is a gift you give yourself.

The lessons of life cannot be rushed, or forced, or made to happen before it is time for them to happen. This statement, in fact, is one of those lessons that everyone must learn. But simply reading it on a page, or hearing others tell you about it, will not give you the experience of the lesson. Only by doing – or not doing – can we ever hope to understand. Knowledge only becomes wisdom when we earn it, through the sacrifice of our familiar surroundings and all the people we hold dear. If you think about it logically, everything you leave behind when you follow the Hermit’s call will remain when you return. The only thing that will have changed is you.

The appearance of the Hermit is a call to learn more about yourself and the nature of your existence, and everyone experiences this call at some point in their lives. Take this as a sign that your worldly problems and affairs can safely be put on hold; there is greater, inner work to be done now. Often this will refer to a problem you must solve or a part of your nature you must deal with before a situation can progress. Only in rare circumstances will this refer to a spiritual transformation, but when it does, know that it will be a powerful change requiring much effort and commitment. A more long-term withdrawal may be needed.

The Hermit can also show you that a mentor is entering your life. This is a person who will not teach you overtly, but who will show you how to find the answers you are seeking within yourself. Perhaps you will be the mentor who is indicated by the Hermit, in which case you must be careful not to preach to your student, but guide him. Your wisdom will not be your student’s, and you must accept that before any teaching can be done. If you are ever in doubt, know that all the wisdom you will need is already inside you, waiting to emerge. This light will not come unless sought out, but when it does, you will see that you had the answers all along.

The card contains secrets, and if you want to find them yourselves, then don’t read any further.
Hint*
numbers become letters, as you’ll notice upon closer inspection.
Answers*
3517 found one in each corner of the card, becomes LIES when flipped. Circled 1,2,and 3 all have words associated with them, ILLUSIONS, FADE, and REVEAL respectively, but there’s another hidden; look on the demons head 531704(Facing up) Circle = 0 number = 4, so 04 is the final clue, 5317(Flipped) reveals LIES. So the answer reads ILLUSIONS FADE & REAVEAL LIES, howing the Magician to be an illusion, and his true form the beast to be a lie or liar.

Bureau 52 is a playing card-themed organization specializing in espionage and assassination. It is broken up into 4 teams – the suits in a deck of cards. Each team consists of 13 members, with 2 being the lowest in authority and Ace acting as that team’s leader as well as its communication with the Bureau’s shadowy head honcho, the Dealer. Pictured here are agents Jack of Hearts, Nine of Spades, and Six of Clubs.

Here’s one I thought of when I saw the parameters of this contest and I also dedicate it to my new daughter born on the 17th of this month. Hope its not some type of infringement but I thought it would be a cute and different idea then what most other people would of put.

Damn. Looks like my idea’s not so original after all. Oh well… at least I won’t miss this contest like the Leo one. (Oh, and do you guys have any idea how hard it is to design clothes for a transvestite? It’s not easy I tell ya. :P)

The Cards are a gang whose hierarchy is based off a deck of standard playing cards. Their leaders are known only as the “Suits,” each specializing in one area of business… everything from guns and diamonds to slavery and prostitution. And the Suits’ right-hand men are the elite Aces, pictured here in their current configuration.

1. The Ace of Clubs deals in “threat elimination.” He’s the meanest guy around, adept at both assassination and protection detail.

2. The Ace of Diamonds deals in “sales.” You name it and this guy can find it for you, citing contacts from here to Japan.

3. The Ace of Spades deals in “negotiations.” The only Ace not to wear a belt buckle, she knows people who can make it so that you never existed

4. And last but not least, the Ace of Hearts deals in “customer relations.” This crossdresser’s clients never leave unsatisfied, no matter their tastes.

Together with their bosses, these gangsters are among the nation’s top most wanted; there’s no area of crime that they haven’t dabbled in.

“The tigers with the snap back! Pass Jason. he’s running down field! But wait- Yes! He’s tackled by Simon of the New Orleans Fish! The Fish have the ball! He’s running, is he- He is! It’s a touchdown!”

The story here is, we have a couple who are playing strip-poker, and it all comes to the last card to see who wins (if my poker knowledge is correct *shrug*) Anyways, I tried to give a contrast between the two images with the red and the black, and threw in a few vague tarot elements. From my understanding, the playing cards we used today are an adaptation of the traditional tarot card deck. So today’s spade came from tarot’s swords set. And Hearts from cups! So, I gave the guy a tattoo with a spade and swords, and the lady with the heart under her eye has a glass.

I’ve been waiting for a contest like this for quite sometime. Now it’s on… and I go blank. More this weekend. You guys have posted good stuff already.

That’s an idea for a Character Contest or the next Creator’s Club. Design another HM’er as a character. Or… post an interpretation of a Power User on his / her profile! With the featured Power User’s consent, of course.

The Crazy Eight. Eight mad assassin’s who formed an elite group of the deadliest killers on earth. There is Hand, who’s right hand was replaced by a rusty claw. Ace, who fights with twin guns (he is an exceptional sniper who also can fight with them at close range via bludgeoning). Flush, who makes up for his small size with his mastery of deadly poisons. Miss 52 (in the back), who likes to leave traps for her targets (mines and such). Jack, who is a knife master of the highest order. Trump Card, a ninja assassin who has mastered the arts of stealth and the katana. Face, a master of disguise who likes to close to his targets without them knowing and take them out with his retractable wrist blade. And finally, the leader: The Queen. She uses a whip made of a mesh material stronger then steel. With her skills she can choke a man from fifteen feet away. You should be almost as weary of these eight if you hired them as if they were hired to kill you. Keep the meetings brief and don’t say much, because the slightest wrong word and your head will roll.

Trying my hand with a villain. The leader of an organization specializing in extortion and murder, the King of Clubs is in reality two men. They are mutant siamese twins created when two brothers were caught in an explosion while extorting money from a high tech laboratory. The older brother was given vast intellect while the younger was given great strength but rendered mentally unstable (perhaps partly due to being dragged along the ground by his brother).

Entry 1
Deuce Wild
Work has been insane this week so I can only submit this entry.
Deuce is a hitman by trade using a signature pair of semi-automatics and flight deck to “double down” on his victims from above.

James Leonard Allen is a man who was accused of a crime he didn´t commit. After being released from prison, he went living on and became involved with a wealthy patron who helped him out of the dark and made him a respectable man. After his benefactor died, he inherited his fortune and decided to became a sort of “Robin Hood” for the downtrodden and the weak against the power of the evil and the corrupt. With the help of a few associates he met in the course of time, he founded his own team, The Black Jacks. He calls himself now as ACE. Ace is a brilliant mastermind and an excelent analyst, master strategist and extraordinary tactician. His skill as a Master of Disguise makes him a dangerous and feared foe.

Bennett Kingston is an ex-U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant. After serving in many missions as a part of a Special Forces Elite Unit, code-named Knight Rangers, he was honorably discharged and moved to Los Angeles. At first, he was contracted as a hitman for the Russian mob, but he eventually left because his new line of work conflicted with his code of honor and ethics. He was ambushed by his employers and left for dead, until an old friend found and nursed him back to health. After his recovery, Ace of The Black Jacks contacted him and offered the veteran marine a new chance in life. Sgt. Kingston accepted and joined the Black Jacks, calling himself KING, since this was a nickname he gained in the Corps as a mocking of his last name. King is an expert in any and all kinds of firearms and small weaponry such as knives and daggers. He is also an expert in both armed and unarmed combat and a skilled driver.

Vanessa Garfield-Westwall is the inheritor of the legendary legacy of Westwall International Inc., a large multinational in the United States. After her husband died, she inherited all of his assets and fortune, making her a powerful figure in the social scene. At first, she was accused by her husband´s family as the murderer of her husband, but eventually she was cleared of all charges. In time, she met James Allen, a.k.a. Ace of the Black Jacks, who asked her to join him in his personal crusade against evil and corruption. Mrs. Garfield-Westwall joined the team and called herself as QUEEN. She provides contacts, information and resources for the team´s missions. Since her position as a socialite grants her some cover, she can easily eavesdrop and pick any important data for the team´s work.

The man known only as JACK is a disgraced martial artist who fell from the favor of the martial arts community after being framed for the death of his dojo master. He ran away and hid himself for some years. Now, he returns in search of justice for himself. Having found the real criminals who killed his master, he brought them to justice. While searching for a new plan and a new lease in life, Ace of the Black Jacks recruited him to join his team. Jack is an extraordinary martial artist and swordsman. He even masters ninjutsu, enabling him to act as a highly skilled ninja warrior.

Linda Denner is a brilliant computer technician and engineer, who worked as a specialist in Computer Crimes for the FBI. After four years, she resigned and moved to L.A. She was contacted by Ace of the Black Jacks and recruited the brilliant scientist to join his team. Since she is a heavy duty perfectionist, she earned the nickname of TEN by her new team fellows. Ten is a skilled computer technician and a brilliant scientist, abilities that serve the team in those instances where a tech/science approach is neccesary.

King of Clubs. Clubs are water-based and are somewhat similar to the Navy, using ships, but they also do a lot of underwater stuff as well. Sometimes they come up against enemy aliens who live underwater, which is where Clubs come in.

Ace of Diamonds. Diamonds are basically an air force, since the spaceships aren’t really designed for combat in atmospheres. The background is an air base on a different planet, hence the oddly-coloured ground and sky.

So I went a little bit different. In the Rider-Waite deck of tarot cards there is a card called Temperance. She is the embodiment of harmony, balance, and health. She represents both sides of the coin, with one foot on land and the other in water. Here is my depiction of Temperance:

Left to right:
Omar Siddig- The King of Hearts. He is the unnaturally charismatic public face of the Club.

Hamilton Wilde -The Ace of Clubs. Founder and financial backer of the Club. He has no powers, but is a mathematic and scientific genius.

Tamara Bradford – The Queen of Spades. A powerful psychokinetic, she is the unlikely muscle of the Club. She is also the owner of the de facto mascot, a calico cat named Joker.

Jacqueline Gaspar – The Jack of Diamonds. Her power is precognition, with the added twist of seeing all possible outcomes of any given event. Through experience, she has learned to expect the worst.

The inspiration for Tamara and Jacqueline’s codenames comes from Sting’s “Shape of My Heart”. The others fell into place naturally. Also, I didn’t mean for Hamilton to come out looking so much like a young Christopher Lee, but the more I look at it, the more he does.

My daughter and fourth child was born on the 17th so I have been busy and haven’t really been able to dive into this contest. I did enter one piece earlier and I hope I did well on this one too. The thing about entering late is a lot of ideas have been taken but I hope mine is unique.

This is my first and i think last entry(is so hot here and many work and… very very hot).http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/8188/kytanacard.png
Title: “Diamonds meets Clubs” or “No Hearts and no Spades”
Diamond stands for mirth and happiness. Clubs stands for temptation and curiosity. But not simple light and darkness.
Is only that feeling when i play.

In the Holdem Kingdom, there are two soldiers who are considered to be the worst pair of soldiers to ever group up. A soldier nicknamed “2 of Diamonds” and the shortest soldier nicknamed “7 of clubs”. Always getting in trouble, they somehow Flop into victory. Through twists & Turns, lands & Rivers, they conquer evil with the biggest of Odds.

OK folks, entries are all downloaded and I’m going through them now. This contest is officially closed — thank you all for playing along!

Winners announced shortly (in the next hour or two).

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